The Week Ahead: Feb. 28 to March 5

The Capitol Steps open their annual two-week residency at the Kravis Center at a perfect time. The touring comedy troupe, launched by Capitol Hill staffers in 1981, arrives in West Palm Beach at a time of internecine Republican squabbling over a presidential candidate, women’s reproductive issues, turmoil in the Middle East and national debates about the role of faith in government and health care. Chances are, these equal-opportunity satirists will find the humor in all of this. Their latest album, “Desperate Housemembers,” includes song parodies such as “Fun Fun Fun ‘Til Obama Takes Our Tea Bags Away,” “March Like an Egyptian” and “Under BP.”

The South Beach Comedy Festival launches Wednesday of this week and runs through Sunday at six stages throughout Miami. If you choose to see only one comedian during this stretch, I recommend Marc Maron, because he almost never performs in South Florida. An outspoken atheist and raging left-winger, this voice of perpetual political dissent first appeared on my radar as the co-host of a morning show on the now defunct Air America radio network. He has since lent an enormous amount of prestige to the world of podcasting: His Internet radio show, “WTF With Mark Maron,” has featured long-form interview session with celebrities like Robin Williams, Chris Rock, Norm MacDonbald and Ben Stiller.

A Tony nominee when it debuted on Broadway in 1978, “Working” is a musical adapted from unlikely source material: Studs Terkel’s 1974 nonfiction best-seller “Working,” which delved into the meaning of labor for dozens of workers, from cab drivers to yacht brokers. Stephen Schwartz (“Wicked”) co-wrote the book and music with a little help from his friends, among them James Taylor and Mary Rodgers. The musical numbers explore such timeless workaday realities as “Traffic Jam,” “Millwork” and “Cleanin’ Women,” though parts of the show have been revised to suit the zeitgeist.

Opening night of Miami International Film Festival at various cinemas and clubs; various show times and admissions; 305/237-3456 or www.miamifilmfestival.com

Running through March 11, the Miami International Film Festival continues to be a haven for film buffs across the tri-county area, specializing in regional and world premieres by established auteurs and emerging artists alike. Festivities kick off at 7:30 tonight at the Gusman Center for the Arts with “Mariachi Gringo,” about an American man who falls in love with mariachi music and the culture it espouses. It’s followed by a “Café Noir” opening night party at Miami’s historic Dupont building, which will be transformed into a huge speakeasy complete live music, dancing and “jazz-era hedonists.”

Gallagher is often the butt of jokes these days, with the line being that he’s a washed-up comedian living off his ‘80s glory. While it seems easy to laugh at him, rather than with him, this criticism is inaccurate. Gallagher has been collecting solid paychecks well into the 21stcentury, and a whopping 16 cable TV specials suggest that he must offer something other than mashed-up watermelons. One such offering may be controversy: Gallagher’s humor has taken a right-wing slant since the election of Barack Obama, and he has been charged with racism and homophobia. Say what you want about his tired Sledge-O-Matic schtick, but the guy is not irrelevant.

Whether you’ve seen them on “60 Minutes,” Oscar telecasts or in its regular tour appearances, it’s impossible to forget Pilobolus, a contemporary dance company that has been forging its unique and inimitable identity since 1971. The Pilobolus show is a spectacle that encompasses dance, gymnastics, performance art and shadow play, with the unusually intimate bodies contorting themselves into movable sculptures. Just as emotionally absorbing as they are physically engaging, the dancers in Pilobolus created a piece honoring the Holocaust in 1999 and recently became the first dance collective ever to receive a Dance Magazine award.

Barrage is a group of international, multitalented entertainers who appeal to cultural buffet lovers. To put it another way, if you can’t decide what you want, try Barrage, because they offer it all: music, song, dance and stagecraft, with influences beginning with classical music and ending at contemporary world music. Its members, all of whom are virtuosi, often lead from the fiddle, taking the instrument to daring new heights. It’s possible that symphonic music has never been as danceable as it is in Barrage’s nimble hands.

The musicians in the Pink Floyd Experience would no doubt find the designation of “cover band” insulting, and for good reason. Yes, they play Pink Floyd songs, but they are just one facet of this touring spectacle, developed with love and care by Annerin Productions. To insure an intimate experience, they’ve taken their version of a classic Pink Floyd stage show, complete with all the bells and whistles, to theaters, rather than stadiums or hockey arenas. The result is a show that’s as much worthy of Broadway as Woodstock, and the Pink Floyd Experience remains near the top of a list of the more than 75 top-ranked Floyd tribute acts across the globe.